Official Trailer for ‘Name of the Game’ Doc About Male Exotic Dancing
by Alex Billington
July 23, 2025
Source: YouTube
“This is an emotional game you play with people. And it’s more dangerous than you actually think.” Kino Lorber has unveiled an official trailer for a documentary film titled Name of the Game, a look at the real life version of the Magic Mike scene. And all the darker sides of it in addition to all the joy and excitement. After first premiering back in 2023, the doc is finally getting a theatrical release in art house theaters this August. Who’s interested? “The little known history of the male exotic dancing scene that had its heyday in South Los Angeles… This isn’t like Chippendales, and it certainly isn’t Magic Mike.” It’s a revealing doc film that pulls back the curtain to tell the untold story of the underground world of male exotic dancing. The film focuses on the true story of Black male exotic dancing in Southern California. In interviews & performances with icons of the scene like Mike Strong, Hena C, and XTC, we learn the behind the scenes reality of the male exotic industry as it has never been told before: unfiltered, uncensored, and uncut. Yowza. Get a peek.
Official trailer (+ poster) for Will Forbes & Douglas Skinner’s doc film Name of the Game, from YouTube:
In the shadow of Chippendales, male exotic dancing in South Central Los Angeles thrived from the late 1980s until the early 2000s, with clubs like The Right Track, Tigers, and The Boom Boom Room open seven nights a week, and the dancers becoming local legends. In Name of the Game, we follow the lives of several past and current male dancers and the women that support them, both as fans and managers, to learn the untold story of Black male exotic dancing in Southern California, and how it intersects with the origins of hip hop, gang culture, & kung fu assassins. In interviews & performances, we learn the behind the scenes reality of the male exotic industry as it’s never been told before: unfiltered, uncensored, uncut. Name of the Game is co-directed by the filmmakers Will Forbes (director of John Henry) & Douglas Skinner (co-writer of John Henry). Produced by Shondrella Avery, Lynette Baker, Colin Geddes, Katarina Gligorijevic, Mike Strong, Will Forbes & Douglas Skinner. The film first premiered at the 2023 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival a few years ago. Kino Lorber will release Forbes & Skinner’s Name of the Game doc in select US theaters starting August 9th, 2025 coming soon. For more info, visit their official site. Curious?